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Tourist Captured Photos of Suspect, Victim in Pier Killing

A tourist visiting a popular San Francisco pier two years ago snapped three quick photographs that turned out to be key pieces of evidence in the high-profile murder trial of a homeless Mexican man charged with killing a woman two years ago. Sam Brock reports. (Published Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017)

A tourist visiting a popular San Francisco pier two years ago snapped three quick photographs that turned out to be key pieces of evidence in the high-profile murder trial of a homeless Mexican man charged with killing a Bay Area woman.

The witness' photographs captured Jose Ines Garcia Zarate sitting on a seat on the pier and the back of Kate Steinle several yards away moments before she was shot on July 1, 2015. They were displayed to the jury Tuesday during the second day of Garcia Zarate's trial.

Steinle's death sparked debate over immigration and so-called sanctuary city policies because the man charged with her murder was deported to Mexico five times before the shooting.

The witness, Michelle Lo, testified that as she walked onto the pier she noticed Garcia Zarate because he was spinning around in the chair, which was built to revolve. She did not look long at him but testified he made her feel uncomfortable.

Two other witnesses, roommates from the Central Valley who traveled to San Francisco to escape the heat on a summer day, got a window view to the immediate aftermath of the deadly shooting.

Maria Moreno, a third grade teacher, and her roommate Aryn Carpenter, rented a room at the Hotel Griffon on July 1, 2015. The hotel is directly across the street from Pier 14. Both Moreno and Carpenter testified they heard a loud bang that they thought came from a gun, followed by a scream that "sounded like something you would hear in a horror film."

They rushed to the window and saw people clustered around a body, people confused and calling for help, according to testimony. They also saw a man exiting the scene, and he fit the description of the defendant.

The women said he was "the only person who seemed to be leaving," and they thought it was odd.

Garcia Zarate was homeless in San Francisco when he shot Steinle. He had recently completed a prison sentence for illegal re-entry to the U.S. when he was transferred to the San Francisco County jail to face a 20-year-old marijuana charge.

Prosecutors dropped that charge, and the San Francisco sheriff released Garcia Zarate from jail despite a federal immigration request to detain him for at least two more days for deportation.